A 2 a.m. Wikipedia spiral taught you more than some semesters. Aim that energy on purpose.

The late-night spiral works because nothing external is driving it. You follow one link because you genuinely want the answer, and interest is the strongest study aid there is, better than any technique applied to material you do not care about. That is also why those facts stay when revision slides off.

Notice what you chase when nobody is grading you, since that is real information about you. Then point the same energy somewhere deliberately, for an hour, with the same permission to wander. Interest is not only a mood you wait for, it is partly a direction you choose.